Monday, June 19, 2017

Reason #5572 That Trump Was Elected

There was no pressing reason for President Obama’s normalization of relations with Cuba — it was not necessary or even advisable — but the president suggested that comity between the U.S. and Cuba, and a heavier exchange of goods and people, would help to relax the regime’s grip. More than two years later, it is clear that this is not true. While Americans are enjoying Cuban rum and cigars, the regime has stepped up its repressive activities since the “thaw” was announced. During the first six months of 2016, there were on average 1,095 short-term political detentions, according to the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation; there were 718 on average in 2015.
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On Friday, President Trump announced that he plans to roll back parts of his predecessor’s Cuba policy. At the center of the president’s plan is a prohibition on commerce with any businesses owned by Cuban military or intelligence services. That’s a significant change: Such enterprises account for more than half of the Cuban economy. Given that it is not always easy to know in which businesses the regime has an interest, the policy is likely to have a chilling effect on buyers and investors. Trump, who announced his policy with a speech in Miami, is exactly right about the economic effects of Barack Obama’s policies: “The previous administration’s easing of restrictions of travel and trade does not help the Cuban people. They only enrich the Cuban regime.”. . .

Obama opened up to Cuba because he admired communist dictators and aspired to Marxism in the US. While there's nothing inherently wrong with achieving rapprochement with Cuba, it must be done on terms that favor the US, and help bring freedom to the people of Cuba.